Afloat (Strawberry Generation album) – Queen City Sounds and Art

StrawberryGeneration_WhenYouWereHereAndIWasSad1_crop — Strawberry Generation, photo courtesy the artists

The wistful melancholy that runs through Strawberry Generation’s single “When You Were Here And I Was Sad” floats on an irresistible melody. The song recalls something that could have come out at the tail end of C86 or from the Sarah Records roster—think Heavenly or The Field Mice. Valerie Zhu’s melodious vocals sit vividly among filigrees of guitar work and spare rhythms. When the song goes into the dynamic swells there is a clarity of all the sounds working together that is easy to get lost inside and caught up within. The songwriting itself has an exquisite grace and balance that draws you in and when the time signature change hits, in particular in the outro, it is so seamless that the shift in emotion you feel syncs perfectly with a subtle change in the rhythm. None of the elements seem to compete for attention but rather serve the song well giving it an endless listenability. Watch the video to “When You Were Here And I Was Sad,” shot in the UK while the band was on tour playing at Indietracks 2019, on YouTube and connect with Strawberry Generation at the links below. The group’s latest album Afloat was released February 14, 2020 on Sunday Records and is not short on songs of a similar appeal and quality.